Grant will enable Jamaica to build on mapping analysis data 

Jamaica is getting international funding to strengthen its cultural and creative industries.

At the 14th session of the Intergovernmental Committee of the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, held at UNESCO from February 1-6, 2021, the committee approved funding of almost US$73,000 to Jamaica.

The funds are coming from the International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD) for the project, ‘Validating Jamaica’s Cultural & Creative Industry through Economic Impact Assessments and National Statistical System (JAM NSS-CCI)’, which was submitted by Jamaica.

The IFCD grant will enable Jamaica to build on the cultural and creative industries mapping analysis data and develop a robust cultural and creative industries profile for in-depth situational analysis and strategic development. The project aims to construct a statistical framework for future data measurement of the cultural and creative industries sector.

The resulting data will include the currently missing elements of gender and age, enabling strategic development and outcome measurement for these groups as a critical measure. This will result in capturing for the first time how many people, including youth, are engaged in the cultural and creative industries sector and need to be supported through government investments and sector-oriented policies.

Differentiated data further allows the Government of Jamaica to tailor its policy advice and support on a group-specific basis and to inform the strategic direction of private sector investment.

Implementation of the project

The implementation phase will begin in April 2021 and is being carried out by the Jamaica Business Development Corporation with the support of the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport of Jamaica and the Jamaica National Commission for UNESCO.

In pitching for the funding, Jamaica argued that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on cultural and creative industries around the world. In Jamaica, the closure measures such as the nightly curfew and the prohibition of cultural events to halt the spread of the virus have significantly affected the livelihoods of artists and cultural practitioners.

At the same time it has limited cultural production and access to a wide range of cultural expressions. Further, a lack of data relevant to the cultural and creative industries have resulted in difficulties in adequate responses to achieve economic growth and boost employment in Jamaica’s cultural and creative industries.